“Hunger Games” Star Gets Mockingjay Salute at Kentucky Wildcats Game

Lionsgate(LEXINGTON, Ky.) -- When Josh Hutcherson headed home for the holidays he never could have predicted that he'd get this kind of a welcome.

The Hunger Games star, 21, attended a Kentucky Wildcats basketball game near his hometown of Union, Ky., on Dec. 28, and greeted the crowd at halftime.

In response, his fellow Wildcat fans gave him the three-finger Mockingjay salute from his famous films.

It's appropriate, especially given the Kentucky connection that Hutcherson has with his co-star, Louisville native Jennifer Lawrence.

"It was kind of an instant bonding factor, being from the same place," Hutcherson told Kentucky.com last year. "For me, it was the upbringing; it's the family and the culture and everything. It felt like her and I were on the same page with that whole thing. There's an understanding when you're from the same place, an instant sort of connection with someone."